WASHINGTON - Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today issued the following statement after the U.S. Senate failed by three votes to approve legislation extending unemployment insurance benefits:

"There are nearly 15 million unemployed workers across our nation. Each and every day, they look for work and do everything they can to care for their families and put food on the table. Hundreds of thousands of them rely on unemployment insurance benefits as a final lifeline.

"It is a heartless move, and absolutely unconscionable, to deny these individuals the support they need while they get back on their feet. It is also unconscionable to dismiss the important role that these benefits play in the nation's recovery. Yet, that is exactly what senators who vote against extending unemployment benefits are doing.

"The American people always have expected their elected officials to act responsibly, to stand up for them in their time of need, and not to allow partisanship to derail what is essential and what is right. Anything less undermines the very principles in which our nation's government is rooted, and it should never come to pass.

"Congress must uphold its duties to the nation's working families and move forward - immediately - with a long-term extension of these vital programs."